Archdiocese shuts down church

BOSTON - In a move that stunned parishioners, the Boston Archdiocese shut down a Quincy church last weekend, five years after it was allowed to remain open as a chapel.

Star of the Sea Church was one of dozens of parishes closed in a broad and fiercely protested consolidation that the archdiocese announced in 2004. But the next year, the archdiocese said the church could stay open as a chapel affiliated with a nearby church.

In a statement, the archdiocese said it had agreed to let Star of the Sea operate as a chapel with weekly Mass until the appeals of its closure were exhausted. The archdiocese said that happened earlier this year when the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court, rejected appeals from 10 closed parishes.

But parishioner Sean Glennon said the church's decision to keep the church open was not originally tied to its appeals. And he said his church still has appeals left, including one which claims the decision by the Vatican high court was not made by the full panel of court, but should have been.

"We are optimistic that the Mass will be reinstated next Sunday at noon just because of this miscommunication which we hope we can clear up within the next week," he said.